EUGENE, Ore. — Dana Altman is still waiting for his real Oregon team to stand up.
A 60-point swing in outcomes over the past two games left the Ducks’ coach at a loss as to their identity.
Troy Brown Jr. scored 21 points and Kenny Wooten had 12 points and seven blocks to lead Oregon past Washington 65-40 on Thursday night.
Five days earlier, the Ducks were blown out by 35 points at Stanford, the worst loss in Altman’s eight seasons at Oregon.
“That’s our challenge,” Altman said. “Who are we? That was just a different team than the one that played (Stanford).
“Now, are we the team that played Saturday or the team that played tonight?”
Payton Pritchard also had 12 points and eight assists for the Ducks (16-8, 6-5 Pac-12). Wooten now has 70 blocks, fourth most ever by a Pac-12 freshman.
“Kenny was special,” Altman said. “Not only the blocks, but he had them thinking the whole time, and his activity was a big difference.
“All in all, I thought it was great focus, great communication and our best defensive effort.”
Noah Dickerson scored 14 points to lead the Huskies (17-7, 7-3), who had their four-game winning streak snapped. It was Washington’s lowest point total of the season.
First-year coach Mike Hopkins came away impressed with the Ducks’ intensity from the opening tip, when they forced Washington into a shot-clock violation on its first possession.
“It came down to Oregon played like it was life and death,” Hopkins said. “You’ve got to match that, you’ve got to fight for that, especially when you’re on the road.
“One of the keys to winning on the road is you’ve got to keep scoring, and we just couldn’t score enough points tonight.”
The Huskies were 0 of 7 from 3-point range in the second half and 3 of 17 overall. They went without a field goal for the final 6:22 of the game and were outscored 17-2 during that span.
“In the second half, we had great opportunities in transition that we couldn’t convert,” Hopkins said. “We had great opportunities taking it to the basket, and that’s where Kenny Wooten made a big difference with that shot blocker in the back.
“You’re fighting, you’re clawing, and we just couldn’t get over the hump.”
Washington’s leading scorer, freshman Jaylen Nowell, failed to reach double figures for the first time in 16 games with nine points on 4-of-15 shooting and five turnovers.
MiKyle McIntosh had nine rebounds to lead Oregon to a 38-33 edge on the glass. The Ducks also had a 36-24 margin in points in the paint.
Oregon took a 28-21 halftime lead by relying mostly on Brown Jr., who had 16 points at the break. He made 7 of 8 shots while his teammates were just 4 of 19.
Brown Jr. wiped out Washington’s 19-16 lead with eight straight points that ended a 5½-minute scoring drought for the Ducks, who finished the half on a 12-2 run. Five of the Huskies’ nine turnovers came on player-control fouls, including three in a row late in the half, as Oregon stood its ground in the paint.
BIG PICTURE
Washington suffered through its worst shooting game of the season at 15 of 54 for 28 percent. The Huskies were coming off a 78-75 win over Arizona that boosted their postseason resume, but they squandered a chance to gain ground on the No. 13 Wildcats, who lost at home to UCLA.
Oregon needs to replace one of the four, or at best five, Pac-12 teams projected to make the NCAA Tournament field to keep its string of five consecutive appearances alive. With an RPI of 90, the Ducks helped their cause by beating the Huskies, whose RPI was 33.
STAT OF THE NIGHT
Washington’s 40 points were the fewest allowed by Oregon to a Pac-12 opponent since it moved into Matthew Knight Arena in 2011. It also was the fewest points the Huskies have scored against the Ducks since 1945.
HIGHLIGHT REEL
After Washington pulled within 10 points, Pritchard threw a perfect lob pass to Wooten on the baseline for a two-handed dunk and a 50-38 lead with six minutes left.
HE SAID IT
Wooten’s seven blocks were two shy of Chris Boucher’s team record for one game. Jordan Bell, another ex-Duck rookie with the Golden State Warriors, had eight twice. “I watched them when I was getting recruited (by Oregon),” Wooten said. “I wanted to learn from them, and they left, so I was kind of put on the spot. I’ve talked to Jordan Bell a lot and he tells me what I have to do to be successful.”
TIP-INS
Washington started the same lineup for the 23rd time in 24 games. The Huskies are 17-6 with Nowell, their leading scorer, as a starter. … Oregon’s Elijah Brown had a streak of 39 made free throws end on his only attempt in his last three games.
UP NEXT
Washington plays at Oregon State on Saturday night.
Oregon hosts Washington State on Sunday night.
